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Politics & Security

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands as they arrive for talks at the Gimhae Air Base in Busan, South Korea, on Oct. 30, 2025.

Analysis

Ahead of Trump-Xi summit, Iran looks to China as guarantor — but with reservations

Tehran is closely watching the Trump-Xi meeting to determine whether China will continue acting primarily as a protector or if it will gradually emerge as the power capable of pressuring Iran into a narrower strategic corner.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Khaled Hablas

Lebanon authorities release Salafist cleric Khaled Hablas: What to know

Hablas was imprisoned for his role in the deadly 2014 clashes with the military and Hezbollah and his release follows Syria lobbying for the return of militants detained in Lebanon.

The helicopter of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lands on Abdulhamid Han drill ship, the fourth built by Turkey, in Mersin on Aug. 9, 2022, before being sent for gas exploration to an undisputed area in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Gazipasa.

New Turkey maritime draft bill fuels EastMed tensions with Greece, Cyprus

Turkey’s draft maritime bill seeks to formalize Ankara’s claims in the Aegean, Eastern Mediterranean and Black seas, raising tensions with Greece and Cyprus over contested maritime boundaries and offshore energy rights.

Artillery units are positioned near the Lebanese border in northern Israel, May 4, 2026.

Analysis

Israel’s drone dilemma: Hezbollah’s low-cost threat reshapes Lebanon front

While Israeli and Lebanese delegations are set to meet in Washington for the third time, the Israeli military faces a growing threat from Hezbollah’s cheap yet highly lethal drones.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Latest News

Kuwait unveils Iran IRGC infiltration plot, arrests 4: What to know

TTA KENARE/AFP/GettyImages

Rubio hosts Ethiopia’s FM amid push to boost security ties: What to know

Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos Hessebon meets with Marco Rubio in Washington on May 11, 2026.

US hits China-linked Iran oil trade with sanctions ahead of Trump trip

A picture taken on March 12, 2017, shows an Panamanian tanker docking at the platform of the oil facility in the Khark Island, on the shore of the Gulf.

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Diplomatic Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Ezgi Akin

Associate Editor (Turkey)

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Ben Caspit

Israel Columnist

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Jared Szuba

Defense and Security Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

People check the rubble of buildings destroyed in an Israeli strike on the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on Nov. 2, 2023.

Day 27 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Thursday, Nov. 2

Rafah crossing

First group of US citizens evacuates to Egypt from Gaza

The United States is working to get some 400 of its citizens and their family members out of the Gaza Strip via the Rafah gate on Egypt's border.

People demonstrate in support of Palestinians in Cali, Colombia, on Oct. 19, 2023.

Chile, Colombia, Jordan recall Israel ambassadors after Bolivia cuts ties

Bolivia became the first country to end its diplomatic ties with Israel over the war in Gaza.

Jabalia

Global outcry grows after Israeli strikes on Gaza's Jabalia refugee camp

Continued attacks with disproportionate toll on civilians draw international condemnation of Israel's war effort.

An undated image of Patrick Dai.

Who is Cornell University student Patrick Dai, accused of threatening Jews

Patrick Dai, whose parents say he suffers from depression, was arrested for allegedly threatening to kill Jews at the school in New York state as antisemitic incidents rise amid the Israel-Hamas war.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (R) meets with exiled leader of the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement Khaled Meshaal.

Iran urges sanctions on Israel, says Hamas ready for more 'surprise' attacks

Iran's leader censured the West for supporting Israel, while the country's foreign minister warned that more militant "surprise" attacks were in the offing should Israel refuse to halt Gaza bombardments.

Iran Turkey FMs

Turkey, Iran FMs warn over Israel's expansion of Gaza war, disagree on oil boycott

As Turkey and Iran are signaling unity on joint warnings over expansion of the Israel-Hamas war, Tehran’s call for a boycott against Israel has not been echoed in Ankara.

US Air Force via Getty Images

US deploys B-1B bombers to Turkey for 'long-planned' exercise amid Gaza war

The Pentagon's show of force came as Iran's top diplomat visited Ankara amid threats by Tehran and its proxies to pile on Israel's war in the Gaza Strip.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says the unrelenting retaliatory Israeli bombardment has killed more than 8,000 people

Day 24 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Monday, Oct. 30

A Navy member of the Quick Acting Response Team scans the horizon as he protects the USS Whidbey Island and the USS Bataan.

Day 26 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Nov. 1

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia arrives at the formal welcome ceremony to mark the beginning of the G20 Summit on November 15, 2022 in Nusa Dua, Indonesia. The G20 meetings are being held in Bali from November 15-16. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images,)

Saudi's GCC-ASEAN summit: Toward an Asia minus China collective strategy

The GCC and ASEAN nations find themselves sharing more strategic commonalities amid the current era of deglobalization, geopolitical instability and economic uncertainties.

Palestinians search for survivors in the rubble of a building in the Nuseirat refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip on October 31, 2023, amid relentless Israeli bombardment of the Palestinian enclave. Thousands of civilians, both Palestinians and Israelis, have died since October 7, 2023, after Palestinian Hamas militants based in the Gaza Strip entered southern Israel in an unprecedented attack triggering a war declared by Israel on Hamas with retaliatory bombings on Gaza. (Photo by Mahmud HAMS / AFP) (P

'Total blindness': Gaza paramedics recount horror during Israel's blackout

Gazans recount the 34 hours of internet and communications blackout during intense Israeli bombardment cutting off the enclave from the rest of the world.